Snow could hamper investigation of Colorado plane crash

Investigators search through wreckage Sunday at the plane crash site in Colorado     WEB EXCLUSIVE Tony Clark: Probe begins into Colorado plane crash

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BYERS, Colorado (CNN) -- A forecast of 1 to 3 inches of snow may hamper plans by federal investigators to shoot aerial photographs Monday of the crash site near Denver, Colorado, where a turbo-prop plane crashed over the weekend, killing all 10 people aboard, including two Oklahoma State University men's basketball players.

"We have some detailed and painstaking work ahead of us in what are not the best weather conditions," said John Hammerschmidt of the National Transportation Safety Board.

He said the aerial photos, along with maps, would pinpoint where every piece of the wreckage is located in a sophisticated survey of the field in a farm about 40 miles east of Denver.

VIDEO John Hammerschmidt of the NTSB tells reporters what is known so far about the crash (January 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) OSU color analyst Tom Dirato speaks about the downed plane that he was originally scheduled to be on (January 28) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   ALSO Witness describes 'ball of fire' Athlete plane crashes Oklahoma State team, community mourn losses     RESOURCES Nate Fleming's story last spring in The Daily O'Collegian showed how Fleming's desire to play the game led him to Oklahoma State.     AUDIO Oklahoma State sports information director Steve Buzzard comments on family members of those who lost their lives in the crash 299K/26 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     MESSAGE BOARD Air safety

Hammerschmidt said parts of the plane were found in the estimated mile-long debris field before the impact site of the plane's fuselage. But he refused to speculate on whether that meant the plane was coming apart before it crashed.

Meanwhile, university officials are planning a memorial for the victims. It is scheduled for 3 p.m. Wednesday in the campus' Gallagher-Iba Arena. Gov. Frank Keating is expected to attend.

OSU also has provided groups of counselors to help surviving basketball team members come to grips with the tragedy.

Hammerschmidt said investigators have located the aircraft's two engines, two props and six propeller blades in the wreckage Sunday. Pieces of the de-icing boots -- from the aircraft's leading edges of wings and horizontal stabilizer -- were found scattered in the debris.

Investigators will check if de-icing was performed before takeoff.

When the 25-year-old Beechcraft King Air 200 took off Saturday night from Jefferson County Airport outside Denver on its way to Stillwater, Oklahoma, there was light snow, visibility was one mile and the temperature was below freezing.

Air traffic controllers said the plane climbed to 8,000 feet. After the plane leveled off at 23,000 feet, oversight of the flight was transferred to controllers at Denver Center, but the pilot never acknowledged the change. Seventeen minutes after takeoff, controllers lost radio and radar contact with the King Air.

Hammerschmidt said the other two planes OSU was using to transport the team and support staff back to school after a game against the University of Colorado departed after the accident plane.

Investigators found there were quite a few other planes in the area. Hammerschmidt said weather reports for pilots indicated "light to occasional moderate turbulence below 18,000 feet" and "occasional moderate rime (frost) to mixed icing and clouds and precipitation below 22,000 feet."

Preliminary observations by the airworthiness group of investigators found there were fractures in certain metal components in the wreckage. Those parts will be more closely examined after they can be moved to a heated hanger in Greeley, Colorado, about 50 miles away. At the hanger, two-dimensional mock-ups of components will be constructed.

A Beechcraft King Air 200 similar to the one that crashed in Colorado

Various other investigative groups will examine maintenance records, aircraft manuals, weather radar data and will talk to other pilots who might have talked to the accident crew or who previously may have flown the accident plane.

Oklahoma State Sports Information Director Steve Buzzard said the plane was owned by an Oklahoma City businessman.

Because the plane was privately owned, Hammerschmidt said that investigators do not believe the aircraft had a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder.

We did not find one," he told reporters, "and as far as we know, there was no requirement for this particular airplane to have one."

But Hammerschmidt said more research was needed on what types of flights the aircraft had previously made. If the plane made charter flights, it would be governed by different regulations, he said.

Earlier Sunday at the crash site, a representative with the local coroner's office placed flags in the field, marking where body parts were found.

Pieces of seats, twisted metal and luggage littered the field, said Adams County Sheriff's Office spokesman Craig Coleman.

He said he saw a set of wheels and a large pile of unrecognizable debris.

School buses were driven onto the field to block the view from the public as remains were gathered and removed.

Joining the NTSB was an FBI evidence response team composed of a dozen agents to help identify the dead and make sure evidence is processed correctly.

FBI Special Agent Mark Mershon said there is no evidence the crash was anything but an accident.

There was no distress call from the crew before the crash, said Arnold Scott of the NTSB.

In Oklahoma on Sunday, the governor ordered state flags flown at half-staff.

"It's like a part of the school died," said Justin Battista, a freshman walking in the rain toward Sunday morning Mass.

OSU President James Halligan said, "It's the most tragic event I've ever experienced in my university administration."

School officials said they had canceled a men's basketball game scheduled for Tuesday night against Texas Tech University. "There's a lot of pain," said OSU spokesman Steve Bosserman.

"You just pour your hearts and your prayers to those family members who have lost people who are so important to them and to us," he said.

Bosserman also said the university was sending three representatives to the crash site Sunday.

Both broadcasters for the OSU team were supposed to be on the doomed plane, but a bad back and a sympathetic coach put one man on the coach's jet instead at the last minute.

"The first thing I said to my wife was: 'I'm glad you didn't have to call my grandkids and tell them that your grandfather's not here anymore,'" said Bob Dirato, a color man for the team. His partner who did play-by-play announcing, Bill Teegins, 48, died in the crash.

Dirato said the surviving team members were distraught and talked to him and school officials late into the early morning hours in an effort to find answers to the question of why certain lives were lost. Dirato said his life would never be the same.

"You would have to be pretty callous for something like this to not change your life," said Dirato.

Sports director Buzzard said he expected the surviving players would spend the day in seclusion.

"I would be remiss to tell you I know what they're doing today because it's a private time," he said. "They were together last night for most of the night and I would guess they'd be together today."

The players who died were 20-year-old Nate Fleming, a freshman guard from Edmond, Oklahoma, and junior guard Dan Lawson, 21, from Detroit, Michigan.

OSU officials said the other victims were Teegins; broadcast engineer Kendall Durfey; sports information employee Will Hancock; director of basketball operations Pat Noyes; trainer Brian Luinstra; student manager Jared Weiberg; pilot Denver Mills; and co-pilot Bjorn Falistrom.

Mills of Oklahoma City was certified as an airline transport pilot, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. That means Mills had the same certification as pilots of large commercial airlines.

At Eskimo Joes, a normally rowdy off-campus hangout, one student couldn't keep from crying as she seated the few customers who came in on the quiet Sunday morning. At a bagel shop near campus, there was no laughter.

The hostess, student Crystal Kelso, knew the two players who died.

"Nate, he was that walk-on that everybody wants to see get in the game," she said. "I just remember chanting his name a couple weeks ago so they would put him in the game."

Kelso said Fleming planned to help her start a community outreach program with other student athletes. Fleming, who also excelled academically, was going to talk to young athletes about staying out of trouble.

She said Lawson was a good friend, even though they didn't always get along.

"It's always hard when you didn't get a chance to say good-bye, or didn't get a chance to say sorry for yelling at you a day ago or whatever," she said.

CNN National Correspondent Mike Boettcher and The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Small plane crashes outside of Denver
January 27, 2001

In Memory

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